A neoplasm developing in the hypothalamus is called a hamartoma in a medical language. This is a benign tumor that is extremely rare. Treatment of hypothalamic hamartoma is carried out mainly in large foreign clinics, but not in every country. To date, effective surgical procedures have already been developed in Russia, but in order to begin their practical application, specialized equipment is needed. In addition, they must be carried out by highly qualified doctors, and patients in the postoperative period must be provided with special care. The causes of a hypothalamic tumor, symptoms, treatment and prognosis are discussed below.
The value of this part of the brain
The main task of the hypothalamus is the coordination of neuroendocrine processes in the body. If its operation fails, this will lead to disruption of the functioning of all systems.
The hypothalamus is located in the lower part of the brain. Despite its small size (no more than almonds), its device is extremely complex. It consists of cores and several areas. The latter can penetrate into neighboring parts of the brain, which makes the borders of the hypothalamus blurred. Each core is responsible for its unique function.
The hypothalamus maintains the constancy of the internal environment, and also regulates the work of all organs and systems when exposed to external stimuli. The functioning of this area directly depends on what kind of behavior a person has in a given situation, how strong his ability to survive in adverse conditions, whether he can produce offspring.
Violations in the work of this vital department lead to the appearance of various pathologies. If inappropriate behavior occurs (this is the first symptom of a hypothalamic tumor and its other diseases), you need to contact a competent specialist.
Causes of hamartoma
As a rule, a benign neoplasm is detected by chance during an X-ray examination. The risk group includes people from 30 to 40 years old, while in women the pathology is detected much less often than in men.
The main reasons for the appearance of hypothalamic hamartoma are:
- Violations of the intrauterine development of tissues and organs. In this case, the symptoms of a hypothalamic tumor appear soon after birth.
- The inflammatory process, as a result of which a replacement tissue is formed and grows.
- Head injuries.
- Infectious diseases, the result of which is a significant weakening of the body's defenses.
- Hereditary predisposition to the development of benign neoplasms.
- Gene mutations that should not occur in the process of normal life.
- Adverse environmental conditions: tobacco smoke, ultraviolet radiation, the effects of radioactive substances, etc.
Each of the above factors significantly increases the risk of a hypothalamic tumor.
Symptoms
In some cases, the pathology can proceed without any signs. For someone, they can appear immediately and have a bright expression, less often - they arise after a long time. It depends on the severity of the disease and the individual characteristics of the body.
The main symptoms of a hypothalamic tumor are:
- Epileptic attacks of laughter. This symptom is most pronounced in children and is found in every third child.
- Muscle cramps.
- Absolute seizures. Below in the photo is a symptom of a hypothalamic tumor in women and men, characterized by a sudden and short-term loss of consciousness.
- Cognitive impairment. As a rule, these disorders are manifested by changes in behavior, memory failures, inattention, restlessness. In addition, the patient is not amenable to any training. In both adult women and men, the symptom of a hypothalamic tumor is not as pronounced as in children.
- Psycho-emotional disorders (depression, uncontrolled attacks of aggression, etc.).
- Signs of diseases of the endocrine system.
Any of the above symptoms of a hypothalamic tumor in both women and men is an alarm signal indicating the need for various diagnostic measures.
Signs of the disease in children
The greatest responsibility for identifying violations lies with the parents, since the course of the pathological process provokes a delay in mental and physical development, which threatens not only negative consequences for health, but also the destruction of social ties.
The main symptoms of a hypothalamic tumor in children are:
- Too early puberty, the signs of which can manifest as early as two years of age: the beginning of hair growth in the groin and armpits, the rapid development of the mammary glands in girls and the scrotum in boys. This symptom of a hypothalamic tumor may be the only symptom of the disease.
- Lack of self-control, restraint, poor perception of educational material, impaired memory, carelessness.
- Psycho-emotional disorders. The child may appear: attention deficit disorder, autism, depression, sudden mood swings, aggression.
- Epileptic seizures, a characteristic feature of which is uncontrolled laughter, which is a harbinger of another attack. They can appear several times a day.
- Convulsions, during which it is impossible to make any movements, and also a sense of self-control is lost. After the attack is over, everything that happened during it is forgotten.
With a tumor of the hypothalamus in children, only one of the above symptoms can manifest itself. Each of them can have a different degree of severity.
Diagnostics
If disturbing symptoms appear, you should immediately contact a neurologist. During the examination, he evaluates the general condition, checks the reflexes and the functioning of the vestibular apparatus, and also determines the degree of sensitivity of the skin. Then he directs the patient for examination.
The most significant method for diagnosing hamartoma is MRI. Additionally, CT can be performed. This is necessary in order to surely exclude cancer. In both women and men, the symptoms of a malignant tumor of the hypothalamus are similar to signs of hamartoma. It is worth noting that the neoplasm degenerates into cancer only in isolated cases.
In addition, a thorough diagnosis is necessary in order to exclude in both men and women a tumor of the hypothalamus and pituitary gland. Symptoms are similar to hamartoma, and this situation occurs much more often, due to the close relationship of these departments. As a rule, a pituitary tumor is also benign.
Patients suffering from epilepsy are additionally prescribed electroencephalography, and from neuropsychological testing for cognitive impairment.
Laboratory diagnostic methods are ineffective against adults. Growth hormone tests are prescribed only for children to confirm or exclude early puberty.
Conservative treatment
Taking medications and constant medical supervision is effective only if the hypothalamic hamartoma is small and the clinical manifestations are weak or absent.
With the help of drugs, you can stop the process of early puberty and restore normal hormonal levels. If the patient suffers from epileptic seizures, medications will only bring relief for a short time, but will not relieve the disease itself, since it has a different origin.
With pronounced symptoms, surgical treatment is indicated, regardless of what size the tumor has.
Radiosurgical method
The operation is performed using equipment for MRI. To date, this method is the most effective. It is minimally invasive, painless and requires no preparation.
The radiosurgical method of intervention is as follows: a beam is sent to the patient's head, which begins to constantly change its position. This process is monitored using MRI equipment. This is necessary so that the tumor receives the right dose of radiation, and the surrounding tissue is not affected.
The effect after treatment does not occur immediately, it will take several months. As a result, the volume of hamartoma decreases by 80-90%, and it ceases to squeeze the hypothalamus. Due to this, attacks disappear or are very rarely disturbed, the psychoemotional state is normalized, and cognitive disorders recede.
Craniotomy
To date, such an operation is carried out only in rare cases when access to the tumor is most difficult. The method is extremely complicated. After opening the skull, the tumor is excised. In addition, the risk of various complications (including death) is very high.
Stereotactic Thermal Ablation
This method involves heating the hamartoma to 60 degrees. Thanks to this, her ability to provoke convulsions disappears.
If the therapy was carried out in a timely manner, the result comes instantly. The process uses MR thermography, which is a guarantee of safety for healthy tissues, that is, only the tumor is exposed to heat.
Endoscopic method
It involves the insertion of a small catheter into the skull. Through the tube, the surgeon inserts an endoscope into the third ventricle and resects the hamartoma.
This is an innovative method of surgical intervention, which is used for patients with a small tumor size. In this case, the likelihood of serious complications is much less than with craniotomy.
Prevention
In most cases, a hypothalamic tumor is a consequence of disorders occurring during fetal development.
To reduce the risks of their occurrence, the expectant mother should follow the following recommendations:
- Avoid getting into stressful situations.
- Do not take medicine without the permission of a doctor.
- Timely conduct treatment of detected infectious diseases.
After giving birth, it is necessary to minimize the risk of head injuries. If any diseases are identified, it is necessary to contact a pediatrician and treat them in a timely manner.
Finally
The hypothalamic hamartoma is a benign tumor that is extremely rare. As a rule, this is a congenital pathology, the signs of which can manifest at an early age. Laboratory diagnostic methods are informative only for children, MRI and CT are prescribed for adults. Conservative treatment yields results only in the absence of severe symptoms and a small tumor size. In other cases, surgical intervention is indicated. It can be performed in several ways, the effectiveness of which is quite large.